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Kiyoshi Ozaki, senior managing executive officer in charge of Mazda’s China business strategy, said, “The Mazda3 has received worldwide acclaim and won 60 awards to date; it is a key global vehicle that represents the best of the Mazda brand. The Mazda3 is a very ‘Mazda’ car, embodying our fun to drive, Zoom-Zoom brand message, and we’re sure it will meet the expectations of our Chinese customers.” Ozaki continued, “We would not have been able to set up the production and sales infrastructure for the Mazda3 without the great cooperation of our valued partners in China, Changan and Ford, which we deeply appreciate.”

In 2005, Mazda began full business operations in production and sales with its business partners toward achieving its mid-term goal of producing and selling 300,000 units in the Chinese market in 2010. Mazda, Changan and Ford are also progressing with plans for a new joint venture vehicle assembly plant in Nanjing; production is scheduled to begin in 2007.

The new facility’s initial annual capacity is 160,000 vehicles, with preparations underway to produce Ford and Mazda-brand products. In addition, a new engine facility, named Changan Ford Mazda Engine Co. Ltd, is under construction with a preliminary annual capacity of 350,000 engines. Scheduled to be operational in 2007, the new engine facility will primarily supply Mazda and Ford-brand high performance engines to the nearby Nanjing assembly plant.

Mazda also enhanced and strengthened its sales network in March 2005 with the establishment of the FAW Mazda Motor Sales Co. Ltd. (FMSC), in Changchun, Jilin Province, with another important business partner in China, First Auto Works (FAW). Also, in June 2005, Mazda opened its Shanghai-based company, Mazda Motor (Shanghai) Business Management & Consulting Co. Ltd.—more commonly referred to as Mazda China Operations (MCO) to integrate its business operations in China. Also in Shanghai, the Mazda China Engineering Support Center was set up as a branch office in August 2005.

In 2005, Mazda brand vehicle sales rose 51 percent year-on-year, to 133,778 units, amidst an intensely competitive sales environment in China, greatly exceeding the total market demand increase of 26 percent. Mazda’s growth rate in China has exceeded the overall vehicle market growth ratio in China for four consecutive years. In 2006, the Hiroshima-based company aims to increase Mazda-brand vehicle sales in China by 10 percent over last year’s results.